"By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people..." (Acts 5:12)

Transcription

1 "By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people..." (Acts 5:12) "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19). A miracle has been described as a supernatural occurrence. It is a breakthrough from Heaven into a natural-world situation. A miracle settles the issue. As someone has wisely observed: "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument." Miracles, real miracles, bring closure to situations of need which have defied conventional wisdom and means of supply. A miracle is not particularly important... until you need one! Divine Impartation I have added this information to our ministry site at the leading of the Holy Spirit. Sometime ago, the Holy Spirit informed me that I was about to enter a new phase of ministry. I have been praying diligently that this transition will be smooth and successful. I believe part of it has to do with a renewed emphasis upon the supernatural. In over 40 years of ministry I have seen about every conceivable kind of miracle, from opening of blind eyes, to creative ones like making barren wombs fertile, seeing God supply "new": bones, blood, hair, brain and lung tissue, and even raising the dead. Miracles began to take place in my ministry from the beginning (September, 1974), but they increased in frequency and depth after an encounter I had in the summer of My family & I 1 / 5

2 had spent six weeks in Australia in the spring of that year in an attempt to gain sponsorship from some full-gospel organization so that we might return to the nation as full-time missionaries. I ministered about 20 times in six weeks in various churches of various denominations. While I was attending a chapel service at L.I.F.E. Bible college in Strathfield, a suburb of Sydney, the Spirit of the Lord impressed me that when I returned to the States, I must see a particular man of God in person before returning to Australia full time in September. To make a long story short, this man of God (one of the key ministers in the Voice of Healing revival of the 50's) came to Cincinnati for a week of meetings just prior to our leaving for Australia. I was able to arrange a private conference with the gentleman (after having told him on the phone of my encounter in Australia). While he was cordial and willing to answer my questions, give general advice, etc., it seemed nothing special was taking place during that week of his meetings which I attended. I was a little discouraged when the time for the last meeting, a morning teaching seminar, arrived. After teaching on the subject of faith, he said, "I'm not going to pray for people today. Instead, I'm going to stand here and anyone with a need, just come up and shake hands with me in faith for your miracle." As I anticipated going up to the front of the auditorium, I assumed he would stop and pray for me, speak a prophetic word over me, etc. However, as I filed past him nothing happened! I returned to my seat, having shaken hands with him, feeling very dejected, knowing he would be leaving the city that afternoon and I would be leaving the country in a few weeks. I couldn't understand how or where I had "missed it." Just then the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to my heart. "Did you do what I instructed you?" I knew I did. "Did you release your faith when you shook hands with the man of God?" I knew I did. 2 / 5

3 "Did you believe you received?" I sat for a moment and realized I did. Suddenly, my right palm began to tingle and burn. I asked the man of God what it meant as I left the building. He calmly replied, "Ask God." I did and He gave me the verse quoted at the beginning of this article. My hand tingled and burned for nearly 24-hours. Upon my arrival in Australia, miracles became startling and commonplace. I ministered in 55 churches, three Bible colleges and several auditoriums during that first 14 months (I've made three additional short trips there since). We were eyewitnesses to healings of: blindness, deafness, cancer, short limbs being lengthened, crippled limbs being made straight, arthritis, diabetes, heart conditions and deliverances from all manner of addictions. The Lord also did a number of creative miracles including raising the dead. Toward the close of our itinerary, we were no longer surprised when a deaf person was healed but, instead, on the unusual occasion when they weren't! Five months after I arrived in the country I received a long-distance phone call from some colleagues in the ministry to the effect that this mighty man of God had gone to Heaven. Only God could have known and thus orchestrated our meeting in order to effect a Divine Impartation. Your Point of Contact As I have prayed about my authority to bind and loose, the Holy Spirit impressed me to scan an image of my right hand and place it on our website as a point of contact for anyone requiring a 3 / 5

4 miracle. If you believe the natural can become supernatural when God gets involved, you, too, can receive your miracle. Moses' rod could become a serpent, opened the Red Sea and brought water from a rock. Elisha's mantle opened the Jordan River. His dead bones resurrected a dead army commander. Peter's shadow, Paul's handkerchiefs and Jesus' clothing were natural things that became supe rnatural conduits of Divine Power when God got involved. I urge you to release your faith to God as you place your hand on mine for your miracle. As the Spirit of the Lord meets your need by means of a miracle, be sure and write to testify. "Father, we come to you in Jesus' Name. Thank you for the keys of the Kingdom, that whatsoever I bind on the earth shall have been bound in Heaven, whatsoever I loose on the earth shall have been loosed in Heaven. Thank you for the commission to use these keys to set people free. I join my faith with this precious one reading these words. I loose them from sickness, disease, pain, infirmity, poverty, lack, demonic oppression and bondages of any and all kinds. Let them be released from anything and everything that is not of God. May their symptoms be removed from their person as far as the east is from the west. Send Your Word and deliver them from all affliction. Bring them into the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel." That's it, my friend! Now begin to rejoice & praise God! 4 / 5

5 Seed for Your Need We also invite you to consider sowing a thanksgiving seed of faith into this ministry. I have written a book about the supernatural, which we believe is blessing multitudes all over the world. Your gift will help us distribute this and other books to those who are in need. May the Lord, Himself, do "exceeding, abundantly above all you are able to ask or think according to His power working in you" as you join your faith with mine through this new point of contact! May God's richest and best be yours! Brother Joe 5 / 5